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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Pan Pey-chyou and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (March 28):
Question:
In April last year, the staff of an outsourced cleansing service contractor of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department had incorrectly mixed cleansing agents, which caused an explosion and led to the death of a female cleansing worker. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the total number of privately run cleansing service companies in Hong Kong at present and the number of cleansing workers employed by these companies;
(b) of the number of industrial accidents caused by incorrectly mixing chemicals which occurred in Hong Kong in the past three years as well as the number of employees involved in such accidents, broken down by year, job type as well as category of the accidents;
(c) how the Government ensures the provision of adequate guidelines on occupational safety as well as relevant training for employees by privately run cleansing service companies;
(d) in the past three years, of the number of inspections conducted by the Labour Department (LD) of privately run cleansing service companies, and the number of employers concerned who were being prosecuted for contravening the occupational safety and health requirements, broken down by year and category of the prosecutions instituted; whether LD has formulated corresponding measures and organised publicity and promotional campaigns to increase the awareness of cleansing workers towards occupational safety and health; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(e) whether the Government has any plan to comprehensively review and step up the existing regulation regarding the safeguard for the occupational safety and health of cleansing workers by privately run cleansing service companies, including amending the legislation to specifically regulate how such companies safeguard the occupational safety and health of cleansing workers, etc.; if it has, of the details and the relevant timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to Dr Hon Pan Pey-chyou's question is as follows:
(a) According to the Quarterly Report of Employment and Vacancies Statistics published by the Census and Statistics Department, the number of establishments in the pest control and cleaning services in September 2011 was about 1 450 and the number of persons engaged was about 75 000.
(b) The classification of injury cases in respect of exposure to or contact with harmful substance (including chemical) by industries is as follows:
Major industries 2009 2010 2011
(1st Three
Quarters)
---------------- ---- ---- -----------
Pest control
and cleaning
services 56 55 32
Food and beverage
services 63 73 49
Manufacturing 21 23 28
With regard to the first three quarters in 2011, the total number of injury cases of this category in the above three major industries is 109, accounting for about 60% of the total number of all cases of this category during that period.
Besides, in the past 3 years, there was one fatal accident of this category in the cleaning services industry.
(c) The Labour Department's (LD) officers inspect cleansing workplaces regularly to ensure that cleansing contractors comply with relevant legislation and to safeguard the occupational safety and health of cleansing workers. In order to ensure that contractors provide adequate information, instructions, training and supervision to their employees, LD officers will inspect the working environment and work processes, examine cleansing workers on their understanding of chemical hazards and safety precautions, and inspect the relevant records on safety guidelines and training.
(d) In 2011, LD launched special enforcement campaigns targeting cleansing workplaces, in which a total of 325 inspections were conducted, 146 warnings and six improvement notices were issued, and four prosecutions were taken out. Among these prosecutions, three were related to violation of chemical safety requirements and one was related to working at height.
At present, LD and the Occupational Safety and Health Council jointly organise promotional activities in collaboration with relevant employers' associations, contractors, trade unions and property management companies. Through organising occupational health talks and distributing occupational safety and health publications, cleansing contractors are reminded to discharge their duties by providing relevant information, instructions, training and supervision to their employees to ensure their safety in using chemicals. In 2011, LD organised 10 occupational health talks tailor-made for employers and employees from the cleansing industry, covering safe use of chemicals, so as to enhance their understanding on the hazards of using chemicals, recognition of labels of containers and their contents, and the associated safety measures.
(e) In accordance with the general duty provisions under the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OSHO), employers must, so far as reasonably practicable, ensure the occupational safety and health of their employees. For the cleansing industry, employers have the duty to provide and maintain safe systems of work for cleansing workers, ensure the safe use of chemicals for cleansing purpose, and provide necessary information, instructions, training and supervision to cleansing workers, including the provision of adequate information on chemical safety and correct labels. An employer who violates the requirement is liable to a maximum fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for six months. The OSHO also stipulates that employees must, so far as reasonably practicable, take care of their own safety and health and that of other persons who are at the workplace. An employee who violates the requirement is liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 and to imprisonment for six months. LD will step up inspections and enforcement under the existing legal framework, and carefully examine other feasible measures to step up the regulation of cleansing contractors.
Ends/Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Issued at HKT 13:26
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